


What Hurts the Most

by littlekittykanny



Series: Maribat Song-fics [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien gets what's coming to him, But Damian and Marinette's relationship is brought up a lot, Chloe Bourgeois has character development dammit, Chloe is very done, F/M, Focuses mostly on Adrien and the fallout around him, I did it guys!, Let Plagg rest now, My canon now when it comes to Chloe Bourgeois actually working hard to be a better person, Nino is also EXTREMELY done, Plagg Is Tired, Sequel to Snuff!, Song fic, This is still minutely salty, This isn't nice to Adrien, i wrote this instead of my essay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-26 16:41:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21377242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlekittykanny/pseuds/littlekittykanny
Summary: “ADRIEN AGRESTE! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU!” the blonde had screeched, blue eyes narrowed. “I’ve known you since we were CHILDREN, and I always thought I was the ROTTEN one of the two of us!”“Chlo, what are you talking-”“Don’t call me Chlo! Only my friends call me Chlo, and clearly you aren’t one. As a matter of fact, you’re NO ONE’S friend apparently!” Chloe said, her voice hard and her gaze like steel. “Lila’s filled us in, mister!”“C’mon Chlo, you learned yesterday that you can’t trust Lila-”“True, but Dupain-Cheng can’t lie to save her goddamn life, and she got VERY uncomfortable when we asked, so I’m inclined to believe that this time that little sneak was being honest.”
Relationships: Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug/Damian Wayne
Series: Maribat Song-fics [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1541113
Comments: 80
Kudos: 1346
Collections: Maribat





	What Hurts the Most

_ I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house _

_ That don't bother me _

_ I can take a few tears now and then and just let 'em out _

_ I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while _

Adrien sat quietly in his room and watched the storm outside. His green eyes tracked the rain as it came down, feeling as dark and gloomy as it looked outside. It had been two weeks since Damian Wayne had come crashing into their (his and his classmates’) lives, and nothing had been the same since that day. Adrien could only blame and direct his anger at Damian, who had catalyzed the changes.

It had been clear from the shock on Marinette’s face that she hadn’t asked the brat to come to help expose Lila...but he was also a little angry that she’d done nothing to stop him. The petite girl had stood there awestruck as Damian tore into Lila. She’d watched with those big grey eyes full of wonder as the American boy pointed out every flaw in Lila’s stories, pointed out all the things he knew were untrue.

Marinette had watched as Lila burned, not for a second offering to help. His kind, caring, and sweet classmate had done nothing to defend Lila or make Damian lay off. So much for taking the high road and making sure Lila didn’t get akumatized! Not even ten minutes after the demon had left, Lila had been akumatized once more into Amnesia, another memory akuma. She was determined to remove everyone’s memory of her exposure and to destroy Damian Wayne for revealing her to begin with.

His Lady had been in good spirit when fighting the akuma. Her smile was brighter than he’d seen it in a long while, and something about that put him on edge. They’d made short work of Lila, and when she tried to garner sympathy, Ladybug had simply shrugged and said, “Then you should have stopped lying. You were bound to get caught one of these days.”

Adrien couldn’t remember his Lady sounding so smug before...as if she were happy about all of this! He had tried asking his Lady to have a little sympathy for her, and that it was probably because she had a hard time making friends. Ladybug had shaken her head at him, looking severely disappointed, before swinging away without another word to her kitty.

Adrien had cried a little that night, hating the look on his beloved’s face.

_ Even though goin' on with you gone still upsets me _

_ There are days every now and again I pretend I'm okay _

_ But that's not what gets me _

When Adrien had arrived to school the next day, no one spoke to him. Nino, his best friend, had looked at him only once. The hurt was clear in his amber eyes, and he looked severely disappointed as well. At one point, Nino had even started to tear up. The expression had Adrien biting back tears himself. Adrien hated disappointing the people he cared about, and it seemed he had disappointed all of them.

Alya had still been furious. She had nothing but harsh words and bitterness for anyone who got in her way. The rest of the class had just seemed forlorn and depressed. A few people glared at him once or twice, but not for very long. It wasn’t until Chloe had arrived that Adrien finally figured out what was going on.

“ADRIEN AGRESTE! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU!” the blonde had screeched, blue eyes narrowed. “I’ve known you since we were CHILDREN, and I always thought I was the ROTTEN one of the two of us!”

“Chlo, what are you talking-”

“Don’t call me Chlo! Only my friends call me Chlo, and clearly you aren’t one. As a matter of fact, you’re NO ONE’S friend apparently!” Chloe said, her voice hard and her gaze like steel. “Lila’s filled us in, mister!”

“C’mon Chlo, you learned yesterday that you can’t trust Lila-”

“True, but Dupain-Cheng can’t lie to save her goddamn life, and she got VERY uncomfortable when we asked, so I’m inclined to believe that this time that little sneak was being honest.”

Adrien had looked over at Marinette, who did indeed look severely uncomfortable. The Chinese-French girl had said nothing and kept her head down. Chloe had made a loud noise of impatience that drew his attention back to his longest (and at one point only) friend. She had looked absolutely **livid**. Her cheeks had been flushed, eyes narrowed and dark. Her body had been tightly coiled as if she were holding herself back from striking him.

“You KNEW. You KNEW and didn’t say anything. You knew and let Minette deal with the aftermath! You **coward**!”

Adrien had flinched at the venom behind the word coward. He had tried to interrupt to defend himself, but Chloe didn’t let him breathe.

“You knew Lila was lying to everyone! Why didn’t you back up Minette?” Chloe had demanded. “Did you honestly think Lila wasn’t hurting anyone? Agreste, I know you’re sheltered, but being my best friend, I didn’t think you were stupid!”

“No one was getting hurt, Chlo-” Adrien had tried to argue, only to be cut off.

“I didn’t apply to another movie festival because of Lila’s lies. I thought she had an in for me, so when she told me I didn’t need to participate in the festivals, I believed her,” the broken voice of his best friend came from beside him. “I missed so many opportunities because I trusted her. Nath didn’t turn in a portfolio. Kitty Section did half of what they did only because Luka pushed it so hard. Alya posted lies on her blog that could destroy her rep as a reporter before her career even starts.”

Nino had swallowed hard, turning his teary eyes to Marinette.

“And that doesn’t begin to cover what we did to poor Marinette,” he had finished, turning his gaze towards Adrien. “True, we share some of the blame for not checking, but did you really think that not telling us Lila was lying, not encouraging us to look for the truth like Marinette did, wasn’t hurting us?”

The dark skinned boy had then laughed bitterly before saying, “I’m glad Marinette met that boy. I’m glad he set us all straight. I’m glad Lila’s gone. And I can’t even begin to think of how I can make things up to Marinette. I don’t think I deserve her forgiveness. She only wanted to protect us from Lila’s lies...from their outcomes...and here you are, claiming you were doing the same thing.”

“Nino, bro-”

“Bite me, Agreste. You left Marinette to face us alone. We thought she was jealous over you, and you did nothing to correct it. If you’d just said that wasn’t true, we would have believed you. If you had backed Marinette up, we could have had a chance to realize our mistakes sooner.”

Another outburst from the back of the room had caught him off guard as well.

“You threw Marinette away...and after she loved you so much! Do you hear me! She **loved** you! She made so many things for you! She always tried to be around you! She always put your feelings before her own! Do you know how **hurt** she was when you asked her to go to the ice rink with you and Kagami? But she put your friendship and her feelings aside to help you! Then when she needed you the most, you **turned** your back on her!”

Adrien had been shocked that Rose could speak with such anger in her voice. The little blond was trembling, tears in big blue eyes. She sobbed a second more before adding, “You know that scarf you really like? The one your dad gave you? He **lied**. Marinette made it for you, but when you looked so happy to have a gift from your dad, she kept her mouth shut! That’s how much she loved you! But I doubt she loves you any more. I wouldn’t blame her if she never wanted to be our friend again…”

_ What hurts the most was being so close _

_ And havin' so much to say _

_ And watchin' you walk away _

Adrien’s green eyes had widened in shock, turning to look at Marinette. The girl had a solemn look on her face. The answers to his questions had been in her grey eyes, and he had felt pain rip through his chest. He had seen her guilt, her anger, her sorrow in those eyes and hated himself. He hadn’t realized how much he’d hurt her.

“...Mari...is it true? Did...did you really love me?” he had asked her in a hushed whisper.

Marinette’s eyes had gone glassy and distant before she looked up at him. She had given him a broken smile before replying, “Yes, once I was in love with you. I had a huge crush on you from the day you lent me your umbrella.”

“Had?” Adrien had echoed, pain in his chest growing sharper.

Marinette had nodded and repeated, “Had.”

Adrien hadn’t been able to understand why his chest ached so damn much at hearing that. Marinette had been nothing but a great friend! She’d been nothing but a friend! So what if she had moved past her crush on him? So what if she no longer had feelings of love for him? They had just been friends!

_ And never knowin' what could've been _

_ And not seein' that lovin' you _

_ Is what I was trying to do _

Later it had hit him like a ton of lead weights when Plagg had finally been fed up with him.

“You’re hurting and upset because you’re in love with Pigtails, idiot!” the little kwami had finally snapped. “You know that fuzzy feeling you get when you’re around her? You know the way you just want to look at her forever? The way she makes you feel special?”

“That’s just being a fri-”

“No, that’s love, stupid,” Plagg hissed. “I haven’t been in love with the Goddess of Creation and best friends with the Goddess of Emotions for longer than the Earth has existed for some human to tell me what and what isn’t love. You love Pigtails. Tell me, do you feel the same way about Nino as you do her?”

And that was when he’d had his epiphany moment. His feelings for Nino and his feelings for Marinette hadn’t been comparable. Nino he adored, but he hadn’t wanted to hold Nino’s hand. He hadn’t wanted to make Nino smile all the time. He hadn’t worried constantly whether or not Nino hated him. He hadn’t wondered what Nino would look like all dolled up for a date. He hadn’t wondered what it would have been like to take Nino to dinner.

Adrien had realized there were only two people he wondered like that about. He’d only ever wondered about Marinette and Ladybug. He’d wondered what it would be like to go on a date with them. He’d wondered about what it would be like to hold them. He’d wondered what it would be like to kiss them, to be with them.

He had come to the startling realization that he was in love with Marinette and Ladybug. He had also come to the heartbreaking realization that he’d had a chance with Marinette, their everyday Ladybug. She’d loved him, even when Ladybug had not. She no longer loved him though, he’d heard her say it. That beautiful kind soul no longer had any feelings for him because he’d sat back and let her deal with Lila.

Adrien had left her to deal with Lila under the guise of making his father happy. True, his father could and would have pulled him out of school...but it’s not like he wouldn’t have been able to escape. He still could have seen his friends by sneaking out of the house. He hadn’t needed to abandon Marinette to the wolves.

And yet, Adrien had fed his good friend and potential girlfriend to the most vicious animal he could have- Lila.

_ It's hard to deal with the pain of losin' you everywhere I go _

_ But I'm doing it _

_ It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I'm alone _

Adrien had then been subjected to watching his friends move on without him. Nino worked with Nath and Marc to try and get their career goals back on track. Nino also occasionally worked with Kitty Section, who was practicing more and more. They were actually trying to work on playing at local gigs around the city.

Kim had started to date Ondine and spent most of his time at swim practice. Max and Alix worked together on a new game concept- a virtual skating game. Alya was trying to do damage control on her blog with assistance and support from Mylene. Chloe, much to his surprise, had been hanging out with Marinette and Kagami. The entire trio had decided to work on several fashion ideas together- one for Kitty Section, one for Kagami’s mother, and one for Chloe’s father. Kagami and Chloe had been providing feedback on all three, but Kagami was assisting Marinette in more traditional Japanese styles, while Chloe was providing details of what did and did not look good on her father.

None of them had been on speaking terms, even after he’d tried to apologize. Adrien had been left completely on his own without his best friends. Most importantly, he’d been left without Marinette. She had barely looked his way since that dark haired American had shown up. 

Damian Wayne had showed up almost every day for the past two weeks to walk Marinette home after class. He’d taken her out on several dates as well as getting her new sewing supplies. Adrien had heard Damian tell Marinette that if he was going to give her gifts it might as well be something practical like fabric and other supplies for her designs. The American had said he wanted to encourage her creativity, but if she asked, he would get her roses or something else.

Adrien had gritted his teeth as he watched her walk away with him. The blue scarf she had knit him years ago was in his clenched fists, her name now clear as day to him. He had been an idiot for thinking that his father could ever get him a gift so nice. He’d been an idiot not to realize he’d opened the same box Marinette had tried to give him earlier that same day. He’d been an idiot to ever doubt her.

Her words from the other day had rung in his ears. 

** “...After all, you’ve already lost me.” **

Indeed, Adrien had lost Marinette. She had looked happier than she had in months on that damned American's arm. She'd smiled a lot more. Her eyes had seemed brighter. Marinette had begun to laugh more...and Damian had seemed completely enamored with the beautiful angel smiling at him. They looked...happy.

Oh well, at least he still had Ladybug.

_ Still harder gettin' up, gettin' dressed, livin' with this regret _

_ But I know if I could do it over _

_ I would trade, give away all the words that I saved in my heart _

_ That I left unspoken _

Last night, he had learned that wasn’t the case at all. He’d joined her for patrol as scheduled, and Ladybug had been in an excellent mood. Her eyes had been shone brighter than Chat Noir could ever recall them being. She’d been almost jovial as she swung about the Parisian skyline...with Robin by her side.

He had been upset to see the American still in Paris...especially after all that had occurred between them. Apparently, Robin had even told the Batman about his and Marinette’s argument, leading to an uncomfortable and frankly terrifying discussion with the man himself. He’d stayed away from Marinette’s balcony ever since that night. That also led to his immense discomfort, knowing that Robin didn’t like him already.

Had Robin told Ladybug he’d accidentally hurt Marinette?

Ladybug had gone silent after seeing Chat, crossing her arms tightly against her chest. She had said nothing until the end of the patrol, quietly following him back to his house. When he had asked, she responded that she’d figured it out on her own. He’d smiled at her,dropping his transformation, asking if perhaps they had a chance to be together now that she knew who he was. Adrien was willing to wait for LB’s identity if it meant she’d be his...even if the thought made him a little sad.

What Ladybug said after had been what had torn his heart to shreds. His Bugaboo had looked him dead in the eye and said, “No, we can’t. I need you to return the ring.”

“No! My Lady, I can’t believe this! After everything we’d been through? After all I’ve done for you?! You can’t take Chat Noir away from me! Please, I’ll change if I have to! I’ll do better, just please don’t take my miraculous!” Adrien had cried, feeling betrayed and angry. “Why would you do this to me?”

Ladybug had looked so sad before saying, “Give me the ring, and I’ll tell you why we can’t be together, miraculous or no miraculous.”

“You can’t have it! Plagg is my only friend! I need him! I need to be Chat Noir! I deserve-”

“You **hurt** someone, Chat. You got angry with her, and you wounded her!” Ladybug had whispered, forcing him to stop talking in order to hear her. “You hurt a **civilian**. I cannot allow you to continue to use the cat miraculous.”

“So this is Marinette’s fault?! She told you I hurt her?! I promise, Bugaboo, it was just an accident!” he had snapped, stepping towards Ladybug.

_ What hurts the most was being so close _

_ And havin' so much to say _

_ And watchin' you walk away _

Adrien hadn’t wanted to fight his Lady, but she was threatening to take everything away from him! He needed to be Chat Noir! Without Chat Noir, he wouldn’t be able to sneak out of the house anymore! He wouldn’t be able to make things right with his friends! Most importantly, if he stopped being Chat Noir, Adrien would never get to work with Ladybug again.

If he ever wanted Ladybug to love him, he’d have to get close to her! How could he do that as a civilian? The answer was that he couldn’t, and that had made Adrien even more desperate. He had looked at Plagg, the kwami now floating beside Ladybug. The little cat god had been looking sadly at him.

“Kid...give her the ring. It’s for the best,” Plagg had said softly. “This destruction is eating you up inside. It’s not healthy for you to have me anymore.”

Adrien had went to summon Plagg to the ring, only to be silenced by the feeling of something warm running down his neck. A sharp blade had rested against his throat, a small cut bleeding from where steel had already pierced his skin. Robin had been at the end of it with a face full of fury. The American was wound up tightly, clearly expecting there to be a battle. If he’d only let Adrien talk some sense into his Lady, there would be no need for a fight!

_ And never knowin' what could've been _

_ And not seein' that lovin' you _

_ Is what I was trying to do, oh _

There hadn’t even been the chance for a fight.

With Adrien distracted by Robin, Ladybug had taken the chance to seize his ring. Adrien had tried to struggle, but the sword against his neck made it highly difficult. In the end, Plagg had phased the ring off Adrien’s finger and dropped it into Ladybug’s hand. She’d looked at him so sadly before whispering, “Goodbye, Kitty. You know...I had been so excited to learn that you were Chat Noir. I thought it was going to be perfect. I could see you fully now...not just as Adrien Agreste the model, but as Adrien the boy who likes dumb cat puns and anime shows. Adrien, the boy who was my partner, who I trusted with my life. And then I realized that you’d never be able to do the same for me…”

Robin had walked over to Ladybug at that point. He had put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, one that made Adrien’s chest burn with rage. The American had clearly been worried about his Lady, keeping her close to him. Robin had then led a sobbing Ladybug away from him without another word, despite Adrien’s pleas for him to stop.

Adrien hadn’t understood!

Why did Ladybug think that he couldn’t love both sides of her? Had she really loved both halves of him? Why couldn’t they work out? Why had she taken his miraculous? Why had Plagg gone with her? Why hadn’t Plagg fought to stay with him?

Why was she crying?

And why was she leaving with him?

Adrien’s heart shattered a little more that night.

_ What hurts the most was being so close _

_ And havin' so much to say _

_ And watchin' you walk away _

And so the next week had dragged on, just as terrible as the first.

Nino still hadn’t spoken to him, preferring to keep company with the most unlikely student, Nathaniel. The red-headed artist had seemed to be clinging to Nino for support, and the dark skinned boy hadn’t seemed to mind. The pair had been talking about local competitions or opportunities for both of them to showcase their craft.

Alya still hadn’t gotten over being lied to, and Mylene was still sticking close to her side. Neither girl had been ready to face their boyfriends and face the ways Lila had come between them. They had not spoken to him either. At the time, Adrien hadn’t minded terribly. He was positive Nino would eventually come around, and Chloe would surely talk to him in the meantime.

What he hadn’t expected was to find Chloe sitting right beside Marinette. Chloe had never been fond of Marinette, in fact, Chloe had bullied her for years! Adrien knew how jealous Chlo was of Marinette, so he had never entertained the thought of them becoming friends! He figured Chlo might feel like she owed Marinette for helping with her mom, but if that were truly the case, Chloe wouldn’t be sitting near her. Chloe also wouldn’t have given her the nickname of Minette either. Chloe didn’t just give anyone a nickname. He had been able to tell from the scraps of paper around them that Marinette was currently designing and Chloe must have been giving critiques. 

The two girls were actually _ smiling _ and laughing with each other! Chloe hadn’t even spared him a glance when he’d said hello.Chloe had completely ignored him, focusing her energy and attention on Marinette. Sabrina had even joined them and cooed over Marinette’s designs, saying how cool they were. This behavior had continued on all week- the blonde completely pushing Adrien aside for Marinette. 

Kitty Section had pulled together even tighter. Luka had managed to get them a local gig, and they had been super busy preparing for it. Whenever Adrien has asked about it, he was shocked to notice that Luka was the one texting him with the answer. Adrien had tried asking Luka what was going on, only to get a reply that made his stomach feel hollow. 

**From: Luka**

**To: Me**

**You should have been honest. Yeah, Lie-la would have been upset, but you would have saved everyone else a lot of heartache and tears. If you try to talk to either Jules or Mari, I’ll break your neck. Have a nice life, Agreste.**

The others still hadn’t spoken to him either, so Adrien had tried to reach out to Kagami during fencing. Kagami had simply stared him down for a moment, expression disappointed and angry, before being absolutely merciless towards him. It hadn’t been the normal ‘I want to win, and I won’t go easy on you just because we’re friends’ type of spar. Kagami had been out for blood, every strike lethal.

If Adrien had to describe Kagami at that point, a coiled up dragon came to mind. She had been poised and ready to go to war, but Adrien hadn’t known why. It wasn’t until the end of practice that he had discovered the reason why even Kagami was so angry with him...and Adrien had nearly cried at that point.

Chloe had been waiting in a bright yellow sundress and white beach hat, clearly both designed by a certain someone. Her dress had honeycomb patterns all the way up, and in the bottom right hand corner of the skirt was a bee with a crown embroidered into the fabric. Her hair had surprisingly been left out of its ponytail, allowing her golden hair to fall in waves around her face. Next to her had been ‘the one that got away’ as Adrien had found it was called on the internet. 

Adrien hadn’t known Marinette could be so lovely, feeling the hollowness in his stomach get worse. He had seen Marinette was in a baby blue sundress, one that brought out her eyes in the most wonderful way. The bottom of her skirt had koi fish embroidered all the way around the skirt, making it look like they were swimming in a pond. Her hair had also been loose, gently falling around her lovely face. She had been wearing a touch of makeup, making her lips look all the more kissable. Her big grey eyes hadn’t looked at him once though. Instead her attention had been solely focused on Kagami.

The black haired girl had then turned her attention from Adrien to Marinette. Kagami had smiled at the two girls before waving. The pair had waved back, and as soon as practice was over, Kagami had disappeared with the pair. She had come back out wearing her own crimson sundress with a fierce-looking golden dragon curling around the bottom of the skirt. Kagami had hugged Marinette tightly, which was odd to Adrien considering Kagami really wasn’t the hugging type.

Marinette had just hugged her back while Chloe had smirked at the Japanese girl. The trio had then departed without so much as a glance at him.

So Kagami had talked to Marinette…or at least Chloe. Marinette had been really upset with him, but she seemed more content to just avoid or ignore him. Chloe, on the other hand, had probably worked out several ways to make his life hell. It had been one of her most admirable traits as a friend, at least in their previous friendship. Chloe had never taken kindly to others hurting the people she genuinely cared about and would destroy any and all threats to her hive. This trait had only come out more as Chloe grew and developed from her experiences as Queen Bee. 

Adrien had finally realized how fucked he was when he saw that his only calls or texts were work related. He had finally come to accept that Marinette may have been right...his decisions may have just cost him his friends…just as they had cost him Plagg.

_ And never knowin' what could've been _

_ And not seein' that lovin' you _

_ Is what I was trying to do _

Adrien watched silently as the rain came down, the sadness threatening to swallow him whole. How couldn’t it when he could see his Lady out in the rain, longing madly to join her? The sadness was only stifled buy an undercurrent of rage. His Lady wasn’t out there alone...no there was a figure in a dark cloak and a red, yellow, and green suit following his Lady with ease. There was the first intruder that had come into his life. If it hadn’t been for Robin, Marinette probably would’ve forgiven him. The blond was absolutely positive that it had been Robin who convinced Marinette to make the decision she did.

And that damn bird had some nerve! He threatened Adrien as Chat, but Robin had been just as guilty of watching Marinette’s balcony as he had! The only difference was that...that Marinette had invited Robin to stay on her balcony. She had brought the vigilante snacks and talked to him. Marinette had invited him into her life as she slowly but surely shut Chat out...and Adrien.

His thoughts drifted away from his Lady, trying his hardest not to get angry. Adrien didn’t want to become an akuma. He didn’t want to fight his Lady. He still loved her...even if Robin had ruined his being Chat Noir by telling her about the ‘Marinette Incident’. He didn’t want to cause her any trouble.

Instead, he thought about Marinette...and how much he missed her.

_ (Not seeing that lovin' you) _

_ That's what I was trying to do, ooh _

Adrien hadn’t realized just how much Marinette had meant to him until he’d lost her to that goddamn American. Marinette had been his sunshine in the rain. Marinette had been his shy, sweet classmate. Marinette had been his thoughtful, helpful, and unbelievably kind friend. She’d always been there for him. She’d always tried to support him. She’d always **been there**.

Now she wasn’t.

Marinette’s private social media said it all. There were still no pictures of her an Alya as there once were, but there were plenty with Chloe and Kagami. The trio had become incredibly close to one another, and Adrien had no idea how. Did they become friends during the Lila debacle? Had Chloe figured out she was lying and turned to the only one who didn’t fawn over Lila- her old rival Marinette? Had Kagami ever met Lila in person (not akumatized that is)? Had Kagami known she was a liar upon meeting her without Hawkmoth’s influence? Had the pair told Kagami that Lila was a liar?

Whatever the case was, his formerly three closest female friends had banded together...without him. There were no more pictures of him either...not like there used to be on Marinette's wall. Instead, the pictures in the background had been changed into pictures of her with Chloe and Kagami.

**He** was also in a lot of Marinette’s most recent photos, causing his blood to simmer.

Damian Wayne was a new constant on Marinette’s feed and on the wall he could see in the background of photos taken in Marinette's room. He was normally pictured with Kagami and Chloe and the captions were all related to friendship. Apparently the girls had been using Damian as a ‘bodyguard’, and Chloe said there was no one better than him...except for maybe Ladybug herself. Damian had chuckled and responded that of course Ladybug would have been better than him, she was a superhero.

They were pictured several places together, but the majority was in Chloe’s dad’s hotel. As it turned out, Bruce Wayne and his son were staying there while they were conducting business. The trio was able to see Damian easily, and if gossip was to be trusted, apparently Bruce was incredibly proud of his son for making friends. 

The photos weren’t what made Adrien angry with Damian however. It was what wasn’t captured on film that made him furious. He’d watched Damian escort Marinette from school, wrapping an arm around her as they walked. He’d watched Damian kiss Marinette on the forehead when she was upset. He’d watched Damian hold her as she tried not to be akumatized. He watched Damian talk Marinette down from a panic attack using breathing techniques. He watched as this foreigner comforted **his Marinette.**

And Adrien could do nothing but watch as Damian got to do all the things he’d only just realized he wanted to do with Marinette. He wanted to be her knight in shining armor. He wanted to protect her. He wanted to be the one to make her feel safe. He wanted to be the one those breath-taking smiles were directed at. He wanted to be the one to hold her when she cried.

Adrien could have been the one to do all of that...if he’d only realized just how much he loved her.

Now he’d never get the chance.

He'd lost her for good to someone who'd realized up front how valuable Marinette Dupain-Cheng was. Damian was the one who received her smiles now. Damian would be the one who now held Marinette's heart. Adrien knew he'd also guard it as fiercely as a fairy tale dragon guarded its hoard. He'd treasure her in all the ways Adrien wished he could.

He closed his eyes, allowing a single tear to fall.

**“...After all, you’ve already lost me.”**


End file.
